A Tale of 2000 Days: New Partnerships in Early Childhood

This program aims to engage a global community of practice and thought leadership around early childhood development across the first and second 1,000 days, with a strong emphasis on parental / caregiver engagement. Specifically, the 4.5-day session will: 

1. Provide space for critical reflection and synthesis of evidence across the first and second 1,000 days, including linkages to ECE, health, nutrition, early learning and parenting. 
2. Enable cross-sectoral dialogue among those working on infancy, early childhood and parental engagement — to identify shared opportunities, gaps and strategies for actionable integration. 
3. Co-design practical frameworks, tools or policy-practitioner pathways that strengthen the continuum from prenatal/infancy through early childhood 
4. Build a network of change agents and collaborators who can carry forward momentum through follow-on initiatives, including at UNGA 2026 and the 2026 World Early Childhood Development Forum 

During the session, participants will explore questions such as: 

• What are the most promising models and innovations within and that connect the first and second 1,000 days, and how can they be scaled or adapted across diverse contexts? 
• How can parental or caregiver engagement be conceptualised and operationalised as a core pillar of early childhood development, rather than as an “add-on”? 
• What policy, system, workforce and funding enablers are required to support a seamless continuum from pregnancy through early childhood, and how do these vary across global settings? 
• How can cross-disciplinary collaboration (health, nutrition, early learning, parenting) be enhanced in policy and practice to achieve holistic outcomes for children? 
• How can equity, cultural responsiveness, inclusion, gender and rights-based approaches be embedded in the design of early childhood and parental engagement strategies? 
• What measurement, monitoring and evaluation frameworks are needed to capture impact across the continuum and ensure accountability? 

1. Enhance Cross-Country Learning

   Facilitate the sharing of experiences, challenges, and solutions among systems that already have ECE programs or are interested in developing them 

2. Strengthen ECE approaches

   Promote a deeper understanding of the strengths and weaknesses within ECE systems through comparative analysis of existing approaches 

3. Foster Policy Dialogue 

   Create a platform for policymakers, educators, and parents/caregivers to engage in dialogue, discuss effective strategies, and develop coherent policies that foster stronger links between relevant stakeholders. 

4. Promote Innovation and Best Practices 

   Identify and share innovative approaches and best practices in ECE 

5. Coalition and network building 

   Develop longer term collaboration between key actors in global and national ECE through to the end of this decade.  The ambition is for the 2026 session to evolve into a multi-year program with annual convenings. 

In the months before the 2026 session, the group would be invited to participate in a co-creation process to develop the agenda together to ensure that it reflects the key concerns of those coming to Salzburg. 

Following the co-creation phase, participants would meet for 4.5 days at Schloss Leopoldskron, Salzburg, for a highly interactive program, designed to respond to their needs and move through stages of understanding and exploring key issues identified by the group beforehand, to thinking about solutions or ways of driving change around those key issues: The format is likely to include  

• Interactive workshops and peer-led sessions 
• Case study roundtables 
• Design labs for curriculum, policy, and partnerships 

The second half of the time in Salzburg will be spent in working groups focused on developing solutions for issues discussed in the first part of the program.  These working groups will have the opportunity to continue collaborating online after participants leave Salzburg for as long as it takes for their work to come to fruition. 

Participants will: 

Experience 
•    A candid and open exchange with peers under the Chatham House Rule. 
•    A retreat-like setting, with time and space to disconnect and reflect from a wider ecosystem and gain perspective. 

Gain 
•    Connection to an active international community of outstanding leaders working on this topic. 
•    Inspiration and learning from across the world and foresight into directions for future work. 
•    Relationships for coalition building across organizational, professional and geographical boundaries. 
•    Access to a vast network of Salzburg Global Fellows working across sectors to shape a better world. 

Give and Receive 
•    Promising practices and drawing on the group’s collective intelligence and experience to tackle challenges you face and leverage important opportunities. 
•    Information about projects, approaches, resources and case studies relevant to this topic. 
•    Opportunities for peer mentoring on ways to incubate, replicate, adapt and scale good practices. 

Participants will be drawn from multiple sectors and geographies, including: 

• Policymakers and system-leaders in early childhood systems (health, nutrition, ECE). 
• Researchers and evaluators working on the first and/or second 1,000 days. 
• Practitioners and innovators in parenting/caregiver-engagement programmes. 
• Funders, non-governmental organisations and networks with early childhood portfolios. 
• World Bank, regional development bank and other financial experts 
• Parent- and caregiver-advocate leaders who bring lived experience and voice to the conversation. 
• Emerging new voices and next generational leaders in early childhood education 

Participants will be selected for diversity in geography, sector (public/private/non-profit), discipline and experiential background. The number will be capped to ensure deep engagement